This is my second Defcon and there are plenty of high jinks but you'd be hard pressed to find any lawlessness. There was the year the ATMs were reprogrammed to display the Defcon logo. And there's always a lot of drinking and stupid network tricks. But nothing that's actually lawless.

We recently published an article on the advantages of evolutionary database design (EDBD), a process which has its roots in the agile/extreme programming world. To provide a little balance, some yang for the yin, we asked Mark Whitehorn to comment on the article and give his views on EDBD vs. the more traditional database design approach.

American cooking and home decorating guru Martha Stewart has upset the residents of her newly adopted home town by trade marking the name for her home decorating products. Trade mark law may not extend as far as outraged residents fear, though.

Researchers in the US are a step closer to understanding how the body deals with damaged DNA. The findings might pave the way for new cancer treatments, and could also be useful in predicting how likely cosmic rays are to trigger cancers in humans.

The Internet Corporation for the Assignment of Names and Numbers (ICANN) continued its ongoing outreach efforts last week with two announcements: the establishment of an ICANN online magazine and the expansion of a pilot fellowship program oriented towards those from countries relatively underrepresented in the ICANN processes.

A Florida-based company has accused Apple of infringing a patent it owns for a readable keyboard display, similar to the iPhone's touch-screen. SP Technologies filed a claim alleging that Apple has infringed on a patent it was granted in 2004 for a "method and medium for computer readable keyboard display incapable of user termination".

British computer maker Evesham Technology laid off more than 100 staff late Friday, telling them the firm was in "administration". But the ultimate fate of the firm was unclear today, with the Evesham website apparently showing the Evesham brand is under new ownership.

The US' House Foreign Affairs Committee said last week it will investigate Yahoo! over allegations that it covered up its involvement in handing over information to Chinese authorities to help them pursue political opponents.

Nokia is to incorporate Microsoft's DRM software into its S60 and Series 40 mobile device platforms, fueling speculation that it's about to jump onto the music downloads bandwagon. Microsoft's PlayReady content access software allows owners of digital content to transfer it between different devices in a DRM-controlled manner.

The world's largest thermometer has just entered active service. This isn't a cue for all sorts of "ooh, Matron" remarks, since the thermometer in question is taking the temperature of billion-year-old clouds of gas, way "out there" in the universe.

Australia's ex-monopoly Telstra won't be allowed to switch off its aging CDMA network, at least not until it can provide equivalent 3G coverage, according to new conditions imposed by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.

Google may or may not offer its own smartphone in the coming months, but you're sure to see its apps on other mobile devices across the globe. Little more than a week ago, the search giant teamed up with U.S. wireless carrier Sprint to offer Google tools on Sprint's upcoming WiMax portal.Now, Google has laid the groundwork for another mobile push, inking a deal with Bharti Airtel, India's largest private broadband and telephone provider.

Lenovo is to pre-load ThinkPad laptops with a Linux OS, in response to calls from enterprise customers. Novell's SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 is to be available across the PC maker's ThinkPad notebook series starting in the fourth quarter of 2007.

What will Amazon's upcoming digital music store look like? Here's a hint: The world's most popular e-tailer just threw some cash at AmieStreet, the fledgling music site that prices songs according to their popularity.

California's top election official has decertified electronic voting machines made by the industry's four biggest vendors, in response to a report that highlighted their potential for election tampering.

The wife of Rambus CEO Harold Hughes has emerged as the latest message board star. According to a report, Nancy Hughes dished out 170 messages under the alias clarissamehitable on the InvestorVillage site, defending her husband's good name while knocking other members of Rambus's management.